A NINE-year-old girl has launched a campaign to stop motorbikes causing havoc behind her house.

Louise Sowerby, of The Broadway, Darlington, was stopped from playing in the field behind her home, which is part of the borough council-owned Hundens Park, after youths on motorbikes scared her and her friends away.

Her brother's friend even had a near-miss when a bike nearly knocked him down while he played outside.

She wrote to Darlington police asking for their help, and they agreed to send out police motorcyclists to catch the culprits, who were aged between 13 and 20.

Louise said in her letter: "Please could you catch the terrible boys that ride on motorbikes in the field behind our house?

"They don't care about children playing or people with dogs or men playing football, they just ride them fast. We get very frightened.

"Please could you do something about this? We want to play out and be safe."

Louise's mother, Carol Sowerby, said the police visited their home and agreed to send motorcycle police from Durham headquarters to make it easier to catch the culprits.

She said: "It is worse in the summer, really, when the nights are lighter. It was actually safer for the children to play out of the front of our house, next to the road, than in the park.

"This year has been worse than ever, with these lads riding up and down in the field - it is like living next to a speedway track.

"When the police came round in their patrol cars the lads just laughed at them because they couldn't get near them. But the motorbikes have been more effective."